Marsel van Oosten slipped and stumbled over logs, struggling to lug his camera gear through the verdant mountain forests of China.

Undeterred, he pressed on, finally capturing a stunning photo of a pair of golden snub-nosed monkeys, an eye-catching shot that would win him £10,000.

Breathtaking photos of the natural world can bring attention to endangered species, highlight important environmental issues, or simply fascinate us as they reveal the world’s bizarre and beautiful creatures.

Each year, the Natural History Museum in London crowns one lucky camera-holder Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The 2018 prize brings van Oosten international recognition, along with the pile of cash. (Judges also award a Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year who’s under the age of 18.)

Other images that made the list of winners and finalists this year depict a mother gorilla mourning her dead babe, owls that found refuge in a rusty urban spot, and a Caribbean flamingo behind the steering wheel of a car.

Take a look at these stunning photos of the world’s most fantastic beasts from the 2018 contest.

Van Oosten, the grand-prize winner, is a professional nature photographer from the Netherlands who runs a photography tour business with his wife. He nabbed this photo of a “golden couple” in the Qinling Mountains of China.

Less than 4,000 golden snub-nosed monkeys remain in the snowy mountains of west-central China. Human settlement, as well as logging and hunting, have pushed the furry, blue-nosed creatures towards the brink of extinction.

“Many have been pushed into high-altitude isolation, where they leap across branches, traverse icy rivers, and weather long winters at nearly 10,000 feet, shielded by that coveted coat,” according to National Geographic.

Van Oosten had a tough time keeping up with the monkeys as they hopped from tree to tree, but after some slips and stumbles, he captured this shot of a pair resting.

Underwater photographer Tony Wu was tickled to meet this Asian sheepshead wrasse off the coast of Japan’s Sado Island. The fish’s forehead reveals the “burning desire of a male in love,” he said.

This Asian sheepshead wrasse uses its bulbous red forehead to attract females. If there aren’t enough men around, older female wrasse can also turn into males. They grow testicles, show off their big pink foreheads, and act aggressive.

Normally, the fish thrives in Sargassum seaweed habitats, where it stalks and captures prey. But with plastic now covering the world’s oceans in a “seventh continent” of trash, those traditional hunting methods aren’t always possible.

Veterinarian Odette Doest rescued Bob after he flew into a hotel window on the island of Curaçao.

Because of his injuries and his familiarity with people, the bird can’t safely return to the wild. So instead, Bob travels around as an ambassador for Doest’s conservation charity and wildlife rehabilitation center, called Fundashon Dier & Onderwijs Cariben (FDOC).

Doest’s cousin, photographer Jasper Doest, captured this shot of the flamingo sitting in her lap. It was highly commended in the contest.

While driving through the city of Kapurthala, Singh spotted these two owls in a waste pipe from the car window. He asked his father to stop the car so he could kneel on the seat and get this shot, resting his camera on the half-open window.

Singh’s picture is evidence that the birds are opting for more urban nesting sites as forest cover decreases. Singh hopes his photography might help boost conservation efforts to protect more wildlife.

Seventeen-year-old Cameron McGeorge has been building drones with his dad for five years, in the hopes of glimpsing whales from above like this.